These Fragile Regimes, page 8
part #10 of Parallel Nazi Series
“I understand, Sir. One of our analysts has prepared a summary of how ONI views the world right now. Someone else is working on a summary of our current activities.”
After knocking on the door, Chief Sopher carried in a tray with coffee cups, a pitcher, and a plate of donuts.
“My goodness, Chief,” Carper said, “I spent the war trying to avoid donuts when I was aboard the U-Boats.”
“Sorry, Sir. I didn’t know you don’t like them.”
“Chief, I love them. That’s the problem.”
After a chuckling, Sopher exited the office, and Carper glared at his assistant.
“May I infer, Captain, from your slight frame, that you can pretty much eat anything you want?”
“I need all the nourishment I can get to support my massive brain power, Sir.”
Carper leaned forward and rubbed his forehead. “I think I’m in trouble.”
He straightened up. “Okay, Captain, here’s what I want to do. Set up those two briefings for tomorrow. Today, I want to look at the roster and manning chart and then start meeting people. Oh, and a young lady took pity on me this morning and guided me to this office. I haven’t been in the building before. She also volunteered to escort me to lunch. She will be here at noon.”
“Does the young lady have a name?” Williams asked. “I can have Chief Sopher keep an eye out for when she arrives.”
“Lesa Seibert.”
Williams snorted.
“What?” Carper asked.
“She’s a fine young lady from a good family. She also seems to have her cap set for any flag officer who comes within range.”
Carper blushed as he grinned. “Thanks for the warning. Also, she took pity on this poor lost sailor this morning. The least I could do would be to buy her lunch.”
“Just keep an active sonar watch, Admiral.”
Carper laughed. “Oh, I always do that.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
February 12, 1946, 2 PM
Governing Council Room
Reich Chancellery
Berlin, Germany
“I can’t believe they all pleaded guilty,” Gerhard Wicklein said. “Our legal officer told me he believes they would have had a good chance of convincing the judge that it was all a misunderstanding.”
As everyone arrived for the governing council meeting, the topic of discussion was the trial of the men who had engineered what was now called the Yuletide Coup Attempt. The results of the previous day’s trials comprised the major story in the nation’s newspapers.
“You must understand that they did this as a play to gain attention and support,” Adenauer stated. “If they could generate a wave of sympathy, I think they would have tried to force early elections.”
“A miscalculation on their part,” Ribbentrop commented. “The judge was notably unsympathetic.”
“Yes and no,” Schloss said. “He could have sentenced them to twenty years in prison. He sent them away with a fine and banned them from political activity.”
“I’m glad they stayed out of jail,” Adenauer said. “That would have caused no end of trouble.”
“Won’t they continue to agitate?” Gehlen asked. “They are out on the street again.”
“They probably will,” Adenauer said. “The prohibition on political activity doesn’t have teeth. Their problem is that most of the country is laughing at them. Politicians usually don’t survive something like that.”
“And their support followed you out of the Zentrum,” Schloss said. “What’s that Biblical analogy about the children playing in the square? We piped a song, and you didn’t dance; we played a dirge, and you didn’t mourn. I honestly do not expect a serious challenge from these people in the future. It’s disgusting.”
“Disgusting, Hennie?” Peter Schreiber asked.
“Yes. They destroyed their whole party. Now Konrad must build an opposition party from scratch, and I worry he won’t be able to complete the job before the elections this fall.”
“I know I won’t,” Adenauer replied. “I don’t see us having a major impact until the next election cycle.”
“I don’t want to sound cruel to Konrad,” Peter said, “but is that a bad thing?”
“Yes, it is,” Schloss said. “Take a look at the political landscape. The Communists have practically ceased as a viable organization since the war, and the other leftist parties are associated with the Communists in the voters’ minds. We saw what happened to the Zentrum. So, in the elections this fall, the Nazi Party will face a gaggle of small parties. It’s going to look like a one-party election, and I worry about our credibility in the government.”
Adenauer grinned and pointed at Schloss. “What he said.”
As everyone chuckled, Schloss shook his head ruefully. “Very well, meine Herren, let’s get on with the agenda for today.”
The men around the table looked down at the agenda that Binns had typed and delivered the day before, though most had already studied it.
“Our first item is the budget. Joachim summarized it for us in our last meeting. Does anyone have any questions?”
“I suppose I am concerned that we maintain a high level of military spending,” Adenauer said. “Between that and our efforts to retire the debt, there is not a lot of room for domestic programs.”
“Joachim, can you address that?” Schloss asked.
“Of course, Herr Reich Chancellor. We have cut our military expenditures by 50% since the end of the war. Most of that has been achieved through a reduction of manpower. We are making large investments in the Boeing 540 program as well as jet fighter upgrades. We are also developing our next-generation tank. These programs are necessary and expensive.”
“And what about the V-Weapons program?” Adenauer persisted with a smile. “I know this is something near and dear to the Reich Chancellor.”
“I don’t know if I would characterize them as my collection of toys,” Schloss responded. “I view them as important to the Reich in the long term. We have cut funding for the rocketry program in half, and I must say those people have worked miracles on a limited budget. The majority of the V-Weapons funding is consumed by a black project, which we cannot discuss here.”
“But we all know what that project encompasses.”
“That may be true, but I do not want to compromise operational security, even in this room. We still have a problem with Russian agents in Germany despite Gerhard’s best efforts. We should not let this project creep into casual conversation.”
Adenauer accepted the rebuke and nodded. “Has the OKW determined how many of the Boeings we need to build?”
Schloss nodded to Guderian, who spoke. “We want to build about two hundred of the Boeing 540 aircraft, Herr Minister. This allows us to retire our entire Flying Fortress fleet.”
“And we will scrap the Fortresses?”
“We will retain a couple of squadrons for patrol and reconnaissance duties. The commerce minister is talking to several South American countries who are interested in a purchase. Also, the Australians want some. I don’t think we will have to scrap any.”
“That’s some good news, then,” Adenauer commented. “I recognize they were critical to our victory in the war, but I didn’t want to see perfectly good airplanes thrown away.”
“Our foreign arms sales will offset the development costs of the 540,” Ribbentrop said. “The Americans are planning to buy twenty-five. And the English are making noises again.”
“If that ever happens,” Peter said drolly. “It seems like they change their minds every week.”
“I told Heinz that we were no longer interested in a co-production agreement,” Schloss said. “We have already invested in the development of the airplane. If they want some, they will have to buy the completed aircraft from us.”
“And they were not pleased,” Peter said. “I know our policy with England is to develop the friendship, but there are limits to love.”
The people around the table laughed.
“Wasn’t von Braun supposed to launch something the other day?” Wicklein asked.
“He sent me a report on that,” Guderian said. “I think he sent a copy to the Reich Chancellor as well. They shut down the launch right at the point they were getting ready to start the engines. They had a stuck valve that would have kept one of the engines from firing.”
“So, it was a failure, then?” Adenauer asked.
“Oh, no, we consider it a success. Dornberger and von Braun worked hard to monitor the systems throughout the process. This kept them from throwing away 125,000 Reichsmarks to no effect.”
“Can you explain that?”
Guderian nodded. “Of course, Herr Minister. During this stage of the program, the Reich Chancellor has insisted on two primary criteria – cost and reliability. If we had used the A4 rocket during the war, we believe the failure rate would have approached 50%. Currently, our experience with the engines on the test stands show about one failure in fifty firings.”
“Progress,” Schloss said.
“Yes, Herr Reich Chancellor. When we conclude development and begin production for weapons use, it will be reliable.”
“But it still costs 125,000 Reichsmarks,” Adenauer complained.
Schloss nodded. “Yes, but that is about what the A4 cost. And this rocket will give us the ability to land payloads in Moscow, if necessary.”
“That is still a lot of money for one bomb.”
“That depends upon the bomb,” Schloss replied. “The one we have in mind will cost considerably more than the 125,000 Reichsmarks for the rocket. And von Braun has managed to pull the cost under 100,000 for the rockets now on the line. He thinks he can squeeze more costs out of it. Any further questions, Konrad?”
“I believe I have whipped this horse sufficiently.”
“Next item,” Schloss said. “We have determined that the Russians are sending arms to Persia.”
“I thought the Persians hated the Russians,” Wicklein said.
“That has been the case,” Peter said, “but the Persians have been shopping for arms. We won’t sell them any, and neither will the English. President Taft has rather firmly closed the door on American sales. So, it seems they decided to be friendly with the Russians.”
“To what objective?” Ribbentrop asked.
“A logical move would be to extend their influence to the west,” Peter said. “And we hear that the Indians are worried that they might move into northwest India.”
“So we don’t know,” Wicklein commented.
“The Persians have not been adventurous lately,” Peter said. “I wonder if this isn’t an attempt to buy off the Russians. They have meddled in Persia for the past decade. I’m sure Persia does not want to be added to the list of Soviet Republics.”
“And the Russians may be looking for a way to regain their momentum after losing Ukraine,” Schloss said.
“I don’t think the Persians will let the Russians walk over them,” Guderian said.
“Would they be able to stop the Russians?” Peter asked.
“I think they would surprise the Russians and not in a good way. We destroyed, in large part, the Russian Army as an effective fighting force. We think they are struggling to reconstitute their forces. Morale is very low.”
“I don’t think we should assume that is the case,” Schloss said. “Even now, we should not underestimate them.”
Guderian nodded to acknowledge Schloss’s point. “True, but I don’t believe we should paralyze ourselves over our concerns. If the Russians and Persians decide to fight with each other, we can happily stand to the side.”
“Right,” Schloss agreed. “But we need to beware lest the Persians decide to fish in our pond.”
Everyone in the room nodded in agreement. Schloss pointed at Gehlen.
“But you need to keep an eye on both of them, Reinhard.”
“And I will.”
“Anything new in Poland, Peter?” Schloss asked.
“No. They are still arguing. I think they all agree that our home rule proposal gives them the best of all worlds. They just can’t seem to agree on how to agree with us. They also understand that when they finally figure things out, we’ll be happy to meet with them.”
“The Poles never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity,” Adenauer commented.
The room burst into laughter at his comment. The Minister of Administration smiled at his quip.
“As long as things don’t explode into civil war, I find it satisfactory,” Schloss said.
“And we are making progress in developing the partition of Moravia. The Czechs and the Slovaks will agree to the home rule plan if they can be administered as separate territories.”
“Which is odd,” Wicklein commented. “They otherwise seem to get along with one another.”
“I wish the Belgians and the Dutch were more accommodating,” Peter mused. “I suppose they have a longer history as independent nations. They, and the French, have a national identity that makes them resistant to a settlement, which is not the case in Poland or Moravia.”
“Back to the agenda,” Schloss said.
At three o’clock, Schloss leaned back and stretched. “I think we have covered everything, meine Herren. If there is no objection, I think we can adjourn.”
Schloss returned to his office, thankful that there were no immediate crises to consume his day.
CHAPTER TWELVE
February 25, 1946, 11 PM
Harbor District
Haiphong, Tonkin Region
French Indochina
Colonel Juro Chisaka and Governor-General Jean Decoux stood in the shadows and watched the Shanghai-Japanese soldiers march down the gangway of the docked passenger ship. The normal lighting of the wharf had been extinguished in this area as everyone wanted to keep this project quiet.
“You people moved quickly,” Decoux commented. “We unloaded the equipment from the freighters today, and the soldiers came in tonight.”
“General Araki believes in being nimble,” Chisaka replied.
“Assuredly so. Most governments would talk about this for six months and then take another six to initiate such a project.”
“We are not a large entity. That gives us the ability to make decisions and immediately proceed. We believe that benefits everyone.”
“I noticed the flag on one of the freighters today. It looked like a Japanese Army war flag, but there is a brown bar on top and bottom.”
Chisaka nodded. “That is the flag of Shanghai-Japan.”
“So, are you officially a nation now?” Decoux asked.
“We have not officially declared ourselves so,” Chisaka responded with a smile. “But since we have a flag, a governmental organization, and are exchanging diplomats with other nations, I would allow you to draw your own conclusions. We do not try to make noise; we simply do.”
“I am impressed. You have occupied Shanghai barely six months.”
“We have accomplished much. But there is much more we must do. That mountain is high.”
“Are you privy to General Araki’s goals?” Decoux asked.
“Culturally, we wish to maintain our classical Japanese way of life that Yamamoto destroyed. Economically, we are building a viable city-state with a strong commercial foundation. Militarily, we are developing a warrior ethos that will generate respect in the region and around the world.”
“What are your goals for French Indochina?”
“General Araki wishes to build a strong friendship and develop commercial relationships. We will both grow strong. To be very honest, Governor-General Decoux, we do not think your future lies with France. You have something unique here that the people in Vichy do not understand.”
Decoux was surprised at the colonel’s grasp of the strategic realities. The Japanese understood things far better than many of the people in his own government. His goal was to forge a separate identity for French-Indochina that was not beholden to Europe. Crushing the Viet-Minh was the first step of that plan, and the thousand Japanese soldiers were the key to that plan.
“Will your people get to the encampment by daylight?” Decoux asked.
“Barring something unforeseen, we should be able to do so,” Chisaka responded. “The weather is good, and there will be no traffic on the streets.”
“I trust your troops are prepared for action. Ho Chi Minh has spies everywhere. It is not unlikely that they have observed the landing. Whether he understands what is happening and is able to take action is an open question.”
“I appreciate your warning, and we have indeed prepared for that possibility. I am concerned about getting civilians in the crossfire if something happens.”
Decoux frowned. “I would hate to harm the people we have sworn to protect. If something should happen, please make sure your people clear the area as soon as possible. I plan to release a statement explaining that the Viet Minh infiltrated the city and attacked one of our militia patrols. That has happened all too frequently, and the people would accept the explanation.”
“I understand,” Chisaka replied. “I will join the group when they are ready to move out and will give those instructions. You are wise in your approach to this.”
“I don’t know that I am blessed with wisdom, Colonel. I just try to plan for the unexpected.”
Chisaka laughed softly. “I believe that is one of the definitions of wisdom.”
“I know we are paying a premium for your help, but we do appreciate the aid,” Decoux stated.
“And we are happy to be a part of it,” Chisaka said. “I think you will receive good value for your investment. And I should make my way over to the transports.”
In addition to the troops arriving this evening, the Shanghai-Japanese had sent about one hundred people into Hanoi the previous week who fanned out across the region to gather intelligence. He wondered how many of those people would survive the experience. But Decoux and Chisaka badly needed whatever they could scrape up if this operation was to succeed.
